A Different Kind of Hope
by NoSoul01
Summary: A misunderstood witch struggling to find a reason for her cruel fate. There is no prince to save her in her story.(medieval age AU) (warning amateur writing, review is really appreciated)


'Happily ever after' When she was a kid, people always tell her the story of fairytales where the princess was saved by a brave and kind prince. She was like any other kids believed in those tales and admired them with the same hope to achieve the same happy ending in her life.

But as the time went by, she realized how impossible for something like that to happen. Her dream was nothing more than just only a dream. She was different and somehow that small thing changed everything about her entire existance. She didn't know the best way to describe it but in every fairytale stories there would always be a person that prevents the prince from saving the princess.

The antagonist, villain, enemy and whatever other names that have the same meaning to show that she was evil even though it wasn't true. For Maggie, she was called a...mistake.

* * *

"Burn the witch!" A man shouted from the crowd of people.

"Kill her!" Another man yelled, followed by cheers of agreement from other people who were watching. They raised their fists to the air and chanted the same sentences again and again like a mob of angry villagers which is kind of true actually. For her, she would mostly refer them as a mob of stupid villagers instead.

A witch, that is what they called her, just because she has black hair and can use magic they simply labelled her as that. Seriously can't they see the different. If anything, that was enough to show how shallow the mind of people in that town.

That is why she usually stayed in the dark far away from the society. They would never understand her and only see her as what she was, a wicked witch. She was tired of hiding but how could she leave her sanctuary with the thought of everyone trying to kill people like her. For almost her entire life, she lived in fear, fear of being exposed, fear of being killed and mostly fear that she would lose her hope.

What did she do wrong that they hated her so much. None of them really know her but they already think that she doesn't deserve to be alive. She can't fathom that, not with what she was having right now.

Sitting on the floor of the reinforced cage after she tried to break it earlier, the teenage girl hugged her knees tight against her chest. Her blue dress was wrinkled from her struggle. Her head lowered as her black hair covering her sight from the people who were watching her in the wheeled cage being dragged along the dirt street by the horses. Their eyes were filled with disgust as if she just killed someone and she can't look straight into them. Their hateful gazes, it was sickening that her head felt dizzy just by thinking about it.

She is not a killer, she would never stoop as low as that but they didn't believe her. Why would they believe her, she is just a witch, a creation of evil that tricks people with their magic. That was not her, she just wanted to have a normal life but who is she kidding, did she even felt alive before with anxiety slowly consuming her from inside.

The wheel stumbled upon a rock as the girl's back was thrown against the metal cage again. Maggie winced at the pain but gritted her teeth as she forced herself to not show any sign of being hurt. They would only get the enjoyment from her suffering and she can't have that. They could torture her but she would never let them have the satisfaction from it.

Tears welled up in her dark blue eyes as she quickly blinked them away. Just because she was different, people treated her like she was nothing more than just a disposable trash. She should never leave her house, if she stayed in the dark none of these would happen. Her thought went back to the incident that brought her into this situation.

* * *

It was a beautiful morning in the small town as she walked along the crowded street, a hood covered most of her head from being seen by the walking people. She was getting short in grocery and in her way to buy some more for the upcoming month when she heard a woman screaming for help in the distance. As Maggie walked further, she finally found a group of people gathered around two figures on the ground.

She glanced at their direction and saw a crying woman carrying her unconscious son while pleading for someone to help them. The scene itself was enough to send something into her heart that make her felt sick. Was it disgust that no one even bother to help them or hatred that a kid was let to die by the street, she wasn't sure.

From what she heard, the boy was bitten by a venamous snake while playing with his friends near the forest. When his mother found him, he was already lying on the ground with a bite mark on his ankle. She tried to get help from the people in the castle since there was a powerful mage in there but they didn't even let her into that place. For what reason, she never know as the guards warned to hurt her if she didn't leave.

The boy's eyes slowly parted as Maggie can clearly see his pain just by looking into them. He was suffering and the dry coughs that escaped from his throat only make it worse for her to watch. Why isn't there anyone trying to help them, would they seriously just watched by the side and mumbled their pity.

Maggie gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration. Tears escaped from the corner of his eyes and that was enough for her to see before moving past the crowd of people. She knelt down beside the boy and his mother.

The elder woman stared at her in confusion but she ignored her and stretched both of her hands towards him. She muttered a spell as a dark blue energy glowed from her hands and resonated with the figure of the young boy. As she was doing that people watched her with their eyes wide open in shock, some of them even covered their mouths afterwards.

A bead of sweat appeared on her forehead but it was worth it as her effort can be seen slowly healing the boy. His ragged breathing eventually become slower and calmer, his strained expression also softened until the blue energy disappeared from his body. The boy stared at her and she couldn't help but let a small smile plastered on her face to see that she managed to help him. Maybe there is still hope for her to live normally, maybe people would finally see that she is not evil, maybe she didn't need to live in fear anymore but fairytale is just fairytale and we already know how it would end for her.

"A witch!" Her heart dropped as her eyes widened beneath the hood. At that moment, she realized what she just did and fought with herself on denying her mixed feeling. Did she regret saving the boy, but it was the right thing to do. Then why is this happening to her, why can't they see that she meant no harm towards them and would never be. She didn't know, the last thing she remember someone hit her head with a blunt object and that was it before she fainted.

* * *

And here she was, being captive in a cage like a prisoner .How stupid of her to think that people would see her differently than just a witch. She almost let out a chuckle at her own thought but restrained herself from doing so.

The horses halted to a stop, Maggie slightly lifted her head and saw a pillar placed in the middle of the field with dry woods piled beneath it. They always uses the same way, the most painful way that they can think of. She turned her head to the side when a man banged the cage with a pitchfork while glaring at her. He then opened the cage and forced the young girl to get out from it before pushing her to the ground which received a few laugh from the people.

Maggie hissed at the pain as she got back up on her feets only to be shoved towards the pillar. She was surrounded and her magic is not strong enough to help her escape from their grasp, there is nothing she can do anymore but only to accept her fate that was already decided by them. She have no right on making her own decision, beside her life didn't matter to them. As long as she will be dead, they didn't care about anything else.

She slightly winced when the man tied her wrists and ankles against the pillar. Another man holding a torch slowly approaching her with a devious grin afterwards. The reflection of the orange flame danced swifltly in her eyes as if taunting her. She lowered her head, sighing defeatedly to herself at her own fate.

Her eyes closed as she took a shuddery breath and released them from her mouth. They will never change, she should've known that from the beginning. A low chuckle escaped from her throat as tears finally escaped from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't hold them back anymore, her heart and hope was crushed like a scrunched paper.

She hated herself, there is no reason for her to be alive if her fate was only to suffer. Why...Why can't she be like everybody else, is it wrong to be different. She is still a person but her feelings was completely ignored by them. Tears streaming down her smooth porcelain skin and glimmered under the sunlight.

"Do you want to live?" A male voice spoke, breaking her from her trance. She lifted her head and in her sight, a figure dressed in black cloak with a hood covering most of his head stood in the crowd, people looked at him with confusion in their eyes.

"I said do you want to LIVE!?" He repeated louder than before. The girl stared at him with her eyes wide open in shock. What did he mean by that? she don't understand, but something inside her tells her to answer his question. She was conflicted, is there any point for her to be alive, is there anything that can change something in her life, she don't know and that scared her.

But even with all that, she still want to have hope. Not hope for the people but hope for her dream to come true and that alone was enough for her to answer his question.

"YES!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, startling the people around her.

"Then stop crying" Her vision suddenly became blurry as her eyes slowly closing. The last thing she heard was a scream before everything eventually went dark.

* * *

The sound of birds chirping and wind brushing against the leaves woke her up from her unconscious state. Her eyes slowly opened as sunlight shone over them from the gap of leaves above her. How did she get here? She can't remember, her mind is still hazy with the information of what happened to her earlier.

"You alright?" The familiar voice spoke, shocking her a little as she quickly sat up and looked around her. The figure from before sat across her with his back leaned against a tree, a hard cover black book being held in his right hand before he closed it. Even with the hood, she can still felt his gaze on her.

"H-How did I get here?" Maggie asked, her eyes nervously looking around for any sign of danger but found none.

"Don't worry, you are safe here" He assured her, his hand reached into his cloak as he took out an apple and offered it to her. She was hungry but her mind was too clouded with caution that she doubted his generousity. Seeing her hesitation, he placed the apple on the ground infront of her, his hand then pulled the hood from covering his head. "My name is Lincoln, what yours?" He asked.

"M-Maggie" Her eyes widened at his appearance, he looks younger than her and now that she noticed it, she realized their difference in height. He has white hair which is kind of weird for a kid his age and his blue eyes contain something that comforted her. His front tooth was slightly chipped and freckles can be seen decorating his cheek. He is just a boy and that thought confused her. Did he really save her but how?

"You should eat that, you had been unconscious for awhile" He said with a small smile. Maggie looked at him but didn't see any mischief in his demeanor. Although reluctant, she eventually picked it up and took a bite from the apple, the fresh juice of it wetting her dry lips a little. The boy only smiled at her as he ate his own apple. Maggie lifted her head and her gaze went back to the younger boy. What actually happened to her, she need to know and maybe he have the answer for it.

"What happened to me?" She asked as the boy raised an eyebrow. He then scratched his cheek with his index finger while searching for the right words to say.

"You almost died I guess" He bluntly said, reminding her of her close encounter with death earlier. She lowered her head, her eyes staring at the half eaten apple in her hand, she almost forget about that. With a sigh, she returned back to the sight of the boy, he seemed unfazed by what happened earlier in that town.

"Thanks for helping me" She said.

"I didn't help you, you're the one that saved yourself. Sure I brought you out from that town and into this forest but if you choose to be dead, then I can't do anything about it. I'm saving you because you wanted to be save" He softly said with a shrug.

"Aren't you scared of me?" She hesitantly asked, her head lowered from looking at him. Her eyes widened when she heard a faint chuckle. Looking back at him, she saw the boy laughing as if she just tell him a joke. From confusion, it quickly changed into irritation and finally turned into frustration.

"What's so funny?" She annoyedly asked, her eyes narrowed at him. He eventually stopped laughing and looked back at her.

"You are" He paused. "If you thinks that I'm even scared at a mere witch, then you're completely wrong. In this world, there is a lot of things that is much more dangerous than that" He explained.

"Then why did you save me?" She asked, still glaring at him. At that, his smile widened a little as he pointed at her.

"Because you are different, it's rare to see a kind magic user like you" He honestly said. "It would be a shame for something beautiful like you to disappear from this world" He didn't notice a shade of red colouring her cheek afterwards.

They talked for awhile as it could be the most decent conversation that she ever had until he stood up and wiped the dust from his clothes. "I should get going now" Lincoln said as he took out a pouch and gave it to her. "You can use that money to start a new life somewhere, It's really nice knowing you Maggie" As he about to walk away, a hand rested on his shoulder, stopping his step.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow to see Maggie standing infront of him. "Is there something wrong?" He asked. She gave the pouch back to him and released his shoulder.

"I'm coming with you" Maggie said. Lincoln looked at the pouch, then at her face until what she said sink into his mind.

"Wait, what?" He asked but received no answer from her. Instead she only let out a small smile while looking at him. "But why, don't you want to start a new life" He reasoned.

"Yes and I'm going to start it by making sure that nothing bad happened to you" She answered. "Someone need to keep you safe and I could help you with that"

"Why do you think I need your help, I just saved your life don't you remember... Is there a hidden reason for all of this" He suspiciously looked at her but her expression was kept the same.

"And I don't remember anything about it, for now I'm not sure if you can be safe alone" Maggie said with a shrug. She did have a reason but she can't tell him. It was her hope to at least have an actual friend who she can talk with and weirdly enough talking with him make her feels comfortable. She don't want to let her opportunity just walk away like that.

Lincoln let out a sigh and scratched the side of his white hair. "You can come with me but it will be dangerous though, would you seriously do that?" He asked as she nodded at him. "I don't know what you want but if it could make you happy then there is nothing I can do about it" He softly smiled at her.

"Did you smell that?" Maggie asked as they began walking.

"Smell what?" He questioned, looking at her from over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure, maybe it's nothing" She shrugged it off.

* * *

In the distance, black smoke can be seen floating to the blue sky. People were screaming for help as they scattered in the dirt streets, running for their own life.

The whole town was set on fire leaving no traces of building in it's way. But that is not what that scared them the most, it was not an ordinary fire but a pitch black fire that consumed everything in it's path. And it's all coming from the hooded figure when they tried to burn the witch earlier. It was too late to regret now, there is nothing left for them but the ashes of their precious properties. In their entire life they have never seen such a horrible monster like that. The white haired monster that controls the fire of darkness.


End file.
